Binge Eating Support Group Conversation Thread - 2016
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@RunningEm2016 One thing that jumps out at me is the sudden sugar cravings, particularly after the evening meal. That's a large sign of insulin resistance. Look it up and see if it fits you. If so, there are a number of things that might help you fight against it... Best of luck!0
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »@RunningEm2016 One thing that jumps out at me is the sudden sugar cravings, particularly after the evening meal. That's a large sign of insulin resistance. Look it up and see if it fits you. If so, there are a number of things that might help you fight against it... Best of luck!
OK thanks. I did have bloods done recently and all were fine, would it not have shown a problem on a blood test0 -
@RunningEm2016 - Fasting insulin is not a standard run test. It's one you have to ask for. And no, it wouldn't have necessarily shown up. I don't have blood glucose problems, but I do have insulin problems. Which is essentially the step before pre-diabetic. So I'm working hard to fight back.
And remember, too, that most labs use ALLOWABLE ranges for your test results. There is often a HUGE discrepancy between the allowable ranges and the truly optimal ranges where we actually feel good. So if something is off in your body, but you bloods all say you're fine, there is a test you're missing or a level that isn't optimal FOR YOU. It may take a lot of digging to get to an answer. But the fact that something is off would personally have me keep digging.
Sugar cravings in any form are a sign that something is wrong in the body. Sugar is not required by the body, at all. There is literally at 0% requirement. The body can convert usable energy out of any nutritious food, some more readily than others.
Since it is something that has newly developed, that is somewhat scary, too. Because that means some switch flipped somewhere in your body.
Here are SOME of the things that sugar cravings can mean:- too low calories - so body craves energy, sugar is instant but short lived energy.
- insulin resistance - body doesn't properly process what is eaten, so creates a storm of craving
- stress - the body handles stress differently, whether physical, emotional, or other
- lack of sleep - just missing 30-60 minutes of sleep 3-4 days within a week can create a level of insulin resistance
- emotional coping technique
- too low body fat percentage
- too much caffeine intake
- Missing key nutrients, leaving the body still HUNGRY for nutrition, though it doesn't understand what/why/where/how to solve it.
I could probably go on for days. For me, it's a combination of having used sugar as an emotional crutch during an empty marriage, with a mix of stress/lack of sleep leaving me craving energy, and missing key nutrients due to outlying health conditions and problems breaking down and absorbing my food.
Personally, I think it could have to do with your activities, too. I have a friend here in another group who was an intense athlete. After a good run/burn, it was nothing for him to consume the 1000's of calories he'd burned, at one sitting. This energy overload, even if it was all completely nutritious food, left him to become unable to process foods well. After a time, he even developed T2 Diabetes. He's fought back now, and doesn't require any medications, but he had to learn to balance his exercise intensity and length with food, and such.
So, TL;DR - it's very individual. It may take some experimentation, but the long and short of it is that if you don't feel RIGHT or WELL, no matter what the BLOODS or conventional SCIENCE/MEDICINE say, something is not right in your body. You've obviously got some context for knowing what it feels like to feel good, so remember that no matter your age or condition, you can and SHOULD feel that well again!
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BarneyRubbleMD’s Introduction to the group…
I was diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder (BED) about 2 years ago & feel I'm finally getting it resolved recently with medication (75mg Topamax at night), diet and close monitoring of my blood sugars before/after meals (I haven't had a binge episode since May 7, 2017) but I'll keep my fingers crossed on that until I'm binge free for at least 3 months. Prior to that I would binge eat anywhere from 1 to 3 times a week to as often as maybe twice a day and when I binge, I don't get full & can sometimes consume over 10,000 calories in a single day which wipes out my dieting efforts for a whole week!
My diabetes was also a complication with the binge eating stuff & weight gain. If my blood sugar would get too low, I'd get way too hungry & would binge. If my blood sugar got above 180 mg/dL, it would trigger a binge that was difficult to stop (now I know what to do if that happens--start injecting Novolog insulin every 2-3 hours until I get my blood sugar under 140 mg/dL)--sometimes it takes a lot of Novolog insulin if I've binged on a lot of carbs. If my blood sugar gets above 140 mg/dL but is under 180 md/dL, it makes me hungry which makes it difficult to make good food choices which can also trigger a binge and start the whole binge cycle over again! Also, not getting enough sleep or poor sleep can also make me more likely to binge the following day & also messes with my blood sugars.
The best investment I made to help combat my diabetes & binge eating was a glucometer (blood glucose meter at CVS Pharmacy for about $20) & learned how to use it to keep track of what my blood sugars where before each meal and 2 hours after each meal and how various foods (bread, noodles, rice, crackers, cupcakes, etc. which were awful for my blood sugar) affected my blood sugar readings 2 hours after eating them and even longer like 5 hours later. After a while I could determine what I needed to avoid (like rice, noodles, limited bread) to keep my blood sugar from climbing over 180 mg/dL and re-triggering another binge episode again!
Not eating enough calories/day also seems to be a binge trigger for me. The last time I reduced my calories/day to 1200 from 1500-1600 (1600 was the MyFitnessPal recommendation for me for 2 lbs/wk), it triggered binge episodes for me (this was about 2 years ago). Reducing to about 1200 calories/day seemed the right thing to do since I had stopped losing on the 1600 calories that MyFitnessPal (MFP) had recommended for me (& that calorie level had been working well for at least 6 months), so, it seemed like a logical idea to continue my weight loss. However, with all the binge episodes that happened after that lowering of calories/day to 1200, I ended up binge eating my way back up to where I started (300 pounds) plus another 17 pounds by 1/1/2017 to 317 pounds--and starting all over again! My Binge Eating Disorder Specialist, who I started seeing in Feb2017, had me keep my calories/day at about 2000/day which I would have "bet the bank" I'd gain weight on since I didn't exercise (mobility issues) but instead I've lost weight (66 pounds since Jan2017 & still losing) & now I'm back down to about where I was 2 years ago BUT eating 2000 calories/day which is FAR more enjoyable than 1200! Now, I just keep my calories/day at 2000 & I'll see how that goes over the next month or so. If I make it to mid August2017 without a binge, I'll no longer meet the Binge Eating Disorder criteria (i.e. 3 months without binge eating) that's eluded me for so long. I'll also be curious if I'm still losing weight at that time too as I don't plan to change my 2000 calorie/day plan until after that mid-August date & only (maybe) IF I stop losing weight at that time (I'm hoping my weight just keeps dropping so I can just stick with that I've been doing & gotten use to over these last few months since what I've been doing feels like it's sustainable for me.
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Hey all--
It's great to see a group for this, it can feel very isolating to have an ongoing challenge like this. I'm realizing I've had a problem with binge eating for most of my adult life. For me, it's really a love-hate relationship. I find the physical feelings while I'm actually eating to be almost soothing in a way, but the blame, guilt, shame and frustration afterwards is more and more problematic. My binges are almost always triggered by feelings. If anything, they are less frequent when I'm in weight-loss mode. Caloric intake, macros and those kinds of things haven't ever made much difference. Stress or any kind of negative emotion seems to be the biggest trigger. Sometimes boredom, but I'm usually too busy for that to be a consistent problem.
The last several weeks have been especially rough. I've had a death in the family, which has been rough emotionally. I've also had to spend at least half of my weekends recently supporting other family members, planning and having memorial services, and all the other million details that pop up when someone passes. That's been frustrating emotionally as well, but has also gotten me off of my usual routine for an extended period of time. The drive to my family's house is about 2 hours, leaving Friday after work and getting back mid- to late afternoon on Sunday has disrupted my usual meal planning/shopping/prep and the resulting reliance on convenience food is taking its toll and adding to the problem. I've usually been able to lose or at least maintain my weight despite the binging, but now I'm up about 7 pounds, which just adds to the self-loathing. I would seriously kick the butt of anyone that said the things I call and tell myself, if they said them to my sister or one of my friends.
At any rate, that's a snapshot of where I'm at and what brought me here. I'm looking forward to support from people in the same boat, and to hopefully helping other people out as well.
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@COGypsy - Sending you best thoughts...0
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I need some support with bing eating I got up to 350 lbs through binge eating I've lost 30 lbs but am struggling.
Any tips?
I am eating between 1200 and 2200 cals a day.
I tend to think even if I have had sweet within my cals I have been "bad" and blown it
I wish I could change my mindset. Xxxx 0 -
I am going to be painfully honest here. I am Emma. I am 25. When I was 21 I met a guy and he got me into meth. The next 3 years were nothing but pain. He abused me physically, sexually, and emotionally. Then something really traumatic happened and he almost killed me. Something clicked inside of me and I knew I had to leave and never go back so I went to the police and I got a restraining order as well as reported him. I never used meth again, but I did a lot of drinking, and a lot of binge eating. I didn't have drugs to suppress my appetite anymore, and anytime I felt bad emotionally I'd eat or drink instead of use drugs. My weight started to get out of control. It was already over 200 when I left him, but after being free from him for 16 months I had hit my highest weight of 267. I cut out alcohol in July and only drink on very special occasions...which so far was only on my birthday. I knew I needed to stop binging so in September I quit binging, for the most part, and I've lost 18 pounds so far. It's still difficult and when I feel triggered I just wanna stuff my face with large amounts of carbs. I think this group can help me not overeat.3
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@echastee92 - Emma, congratulations for getting yourself out of such an amazingly horrible situation...and for coming so far...
I think the majority of us deal with a variety of emotional triggers. And sadly, they don't stop even when we make stellar choices most of the time. This is a fantastic group of people... We're all happy to share in your successes, lament in the setbacks, and help strategize for future successes....
Strong, healing thoughts for you... (hugs)1 -
Thanks @KnitOrMiss I appreciate that. It has not been an easy road to escape all that ish. But I am finally in a much healthier place and I can try to focus on helping myself out and becoming a healthier happier person.1
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I've been on and off mfp for years, most faithfully in the past year, successfully losing 25 pounds. However, food has always been a struggle for me. Sometimes I'm fine, I can stick to my healthy calorie goals for several weeks at a time. Other times, I'm careful all day and then stuff myself with sweets, salty snacks, or whatever craving I happen to get. The last two days, it's been caramel popcorn, not even the good kind either, the overly salty kind that makes you really thirsty, and was pretty much nasty, a few kernels at a time I've gotten through an entire bash each of the last two evenings. I don't think I technically have BED because the binges usually are too infrequent to fall into an actual diagnosis, but I'm borderline, and the past two months have been especially bad; I've regained 5 pounds that I had worked so hard to get off. I had never really taken my binges seriously before because when I stick to my food diary I can usually shake off a few bad days and move on, but I just haven't been able to shake it since shortly before thanksgiving so I figured it's time to start taking it more seriously and trying to learn from others who are going through the same thing. I've always been overweight, or at least felt like it. I have two sisters who have always been very slender so I think that may have affected my perception in childhood, even though no one actually told me I was overweight back then, I sure felt like it. That triggered yo-yo dieting by the time I was 11 or 12 which continued through my teens and twenties a bc ultimately put me at 255 pounds by January last year. After 10 months successfully sticking to healthier eating and substantial loss, i thought i had finally taken control of my life and my food habits. I don't even know what happened that got me back off track, but I know it has to stop now. In such a short time I went from feeling the best I have in years to having my gut weigh me down again, it's thrown off my digestion, and binging always gives me the most embarrassing awful gas.
Sorry for the rant. So glad to have this group for support!2 -
That is what we are here for. Rant on Sweetie and welcome!I've been on and off mfp for years, most faithfully in the past year, successfully losing 25 pounds. However, food has always been a struggle for me. Sometimes I'm fine, I can stick to my healthy calorie goals for several weeks at a time. Other times, I'm careful all day and then stuff myself with sweets, salty snacks, or whatever craving I happen to get. The last two days, it's been caramel popcorn, not even the good kind either, the overly salty kind that makes you really thirsty, and was pretty much nasty, a few kernels at a time I've gotten through an entire bash each of the last two evenings. I don't think I technically have BED because the binges usually are too infrequent to fall into an actual diagnosis, but I'm borderline, and the past two months have been especially bad; I've regained 5 pounds that I had worked so hard to get off. I had never really taken my binges seriously before because when I stick to my food diary I can usually shake off a few bad days and move on, but I just haven't been able to shake it since shortly before thanksgiving so I figured it's time to start taking it more seriously and trying to learn from others who are going through the same thing. I've always been overweight, or at least felt like it. I have two sisters who have always been very slender so I think that may have affected my perception in childhood, even though no one actually told me I was overweight back then, I sure felt like it. That triggered yo-yo dieting by the time I was 11 or 12 which continued through my teens and twenties a bc ultimately put me at 255 pounds by January last year. After 10 months successfully sticking to healthier eating and substantial loss, i thought i had finally taken control of my life and my food habits. I don't even know what happened that got me back off track, but I know it has to stop now. In such a short time I went from feeling the best I have in years to having my gut weigh me down again, it's thrown off my digestion, and binging always gives me the most embarrassing awful gas.
Sorry for the rant. So glad to have this group for support!
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Hi,
I'm Cheryl. Longtime MFPeep, new to this group. Looking forward to getting to know people.
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Hello all names Cory Hall, glad to find a group working on this topic, its a lot easier to get into a habit of binge eating and repeat the process than some might think. For me its usually that I don't like to waste food especially since living in the mountains I'm not sure if/when I might have to go without so I eat everything which can be a lot given its hard to purchase items really without getting more than you can use as one person. As well after a period of time with no food I tend to over due it when presented with options once again.
I have started a training routine and am trying to put together a healthy diet plan and this time I am determined to succeed! especially after today when Taco Bell messed up my order and i ended up with two belgrandes instead of one and I of course ate them both and added it on the fitness pal here and discovered just how bad even that is.0 -
Hi. I'm 5'5, 29 years old, Canadian, and hoping that this is the year that I quit bingeing for good. I've managed to lose about 30lbs in the past 2 years (the scale and I weren't friends at my heaviest, so I'm not exactly sure where I started). It doesn't sound like much, but the last 15lbs have been lost and gained again and again and again in that time frame. I had a restrictive eating disorder in my teens, and currently deal with depression and anxiety. I'm also an alcoholic, and an ex-smoker (I quit both in February 2017). Sometimes I feel like my addiction is just hopping from one thing to another.
I am tentatively dipping my toe into the Brain Over Binge/Never Binge Again methods, with some success. Last week I fell prey to the "last hurrah" thinking, but I am feeling ready to commit fully now.
Right now, the only person IRL who knows about my issues is my husband. He is very supportive, but it's hard to talk to him about it. I feel so ashamed some times.
If anyone wants to be friends, please add me!0 -
Hi all,
I’m Rebecca, 27, from the UK and currently 276lbs.
I’ve been overweight my entire life, my largest being 304lbs in September 2018.
I don’t remember exactly when the binge eating started, my earliest memory is about 9 years old. I used to pinch food from the cupboards and take it upstairs to my room and eat it.
There have been countless times when I was younger I just used to stash the evidence under my bed or in drawers and when my parents came to help sort out my room they’d find all the wrappers and go mad.
I carried on pinching food from the cupboards as I got older but just started telling lies that it wasn’t me when they’d ask where all the biscuits went. Even though it was obvious.
My mum and dad have never been very supportive of me with food. They aren’t great cooks and from what I remember, we lived off quick easy unhealthy meals as I grew up. I remember getting weighed at school when I was 8 years old and I was 118lbs. The average weight of an 8 years old is *apparently* 57lbs….
Not long after that my mum got breast cancer. And I think I turned to food because I didn’t know what else to do to feel better about what was happening.
Fast forward 17 years, another breast cancer with my mum, heart disease, kidney problems, a heart attack, brain damage, terminal cancer and myself being diagnosed with the BRCA1 gene. Here I am. Overweight, scared for my health (given the family history) and feeling totally controlled by my emotions and binging.
I know the above should really flick a switch in me going “Come on! Do something about this weight” And sometimes it did. And that’s’ when the purging started. But sometimes it just overwhelms me and it ignites a huge binge.
I’m sure I probably don’t have to describe it to you, but if any of you have seen any Vampire films or series, I can only describe it as like their need for blood. It just takes over me and I can’t stop. I’ve very much all or nothing person.
I can’t even remember the last time I made myself sick now. I bet it was Summer time last year. I still think about it sometimes after a binge but I know it’s not good and feel as if I have really good control over this at the minute.
I’ve only been on here for a month but I am finding the forums very helpful, especially when you find people in a similar situation to yourself, when you thought you were alone and no one understood.
It’s going to take a loooong time to re-train myself with healthier habits but I’m hoping with the advice of some very knowledgeable and motivating people on here I’ll learn to get things under control and be patience and persistent with my weight loss.
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@13ecca4, great progress so far! Something that you said in your post: "I’ve very much all or nothing person."
A similar feeling that I get when binge takes over is that, at least for that binge, I've already lost the battle, so I might as well keep on going (and eating). It's that "all or nothing" feeling. But it's really not all or nothing. Some of my biggest personal victories have been not been fighting off an urge to binge, but stopping midway through the binge that had already started and realizing it's not all or nothing, and that stopping midway is better than not stopping at all.
Going 2 weeks without a binge is progress if you had been bingeing more often than that. Or losing 10 pounds and putting back on another 5 is still progress. Or realizing you've stopped weighing yourself for a month, but hopping back on the scale knowing you've put on weight, is still a move in the right direction.
It's important to accept and forgive yourself (we are all just human) and move forward when you can!1 -
Hi Everyone,
My name is Daniel. I'm 28 and I am living in Canada. I have not been diagnosed with any eating disorders, but I am definitely a person who binges quite a bit and a person who has issues with portion control and how much I eat.
I have been having issues with portion control for years now. About two years ago, I started my weight loss journey. I have lost roughly 55 pounds. I want to be able to continue on that great track and I want to be able to achieve my goal weight. I find that my lack of portion control has definitely played a part in me not being able to get closer to my goal.
I would love to hear about other people's stories and things that they have done to help them with some of the issues I have been facing with binge eating. I am also looking to make new friends along the way as well.
I'm very excited to be apart of this group and to get back on track with my eating!
-Daniel
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